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Prince - 'MPLSound,' 'Lotusflow3er' and 'Elixer'
Funky Creativity
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By Mark Edward Nero, About.com

4 out of 5 stars...

Prince has been in the music game for almost 30 years now, but not only does he show no sign of slowing down, his music somehow manages to still sound as fresh as it did back in the early 1980s. On his latest work, a three-disc set that became available exclusively at Target stores on March 29, 2009, Prince proves that although he's in his 50s now, he still can be just as cutting edge and vibrant as he was 25 years ago. The three discs, Lotusflow3r (Lotus Flower), MPLSound, (Minneapolis Sound) and Elixer (Elixir), prove that he's still far more creative than maybe 95 percent of the artists making music today

'MPLSound'
Of the three discs, it's the second one, the nine-song MPLSound, that should appeal most to fans of Prince's classic material and/or traditional R&B, so that's the disc that'll be reviewed here first. Much of the music is similar to that of Prince's late 1980s output, particularly the drum machine programming, synthesizers and chorus arrangements. But although Prince has been in the music game almost three decades now, he still manages to instill a youthful outlook and zest for life in his verses, such as the opening track on MPLSound, the up tempo "(There'll Never B) Another Like Me," when he sings "Walked in my closet, tryin' to find somethin' to wear/Then I check my email, see where the party be, change the names to protect the guilty, and get ready to creep." Now how many other 50-year-old men can you think of who could convincingly sing such lyrics? Probably not many, if any.
The next song, a funky track called "Chocolate Box," is sort of a bridge between old school and new. The drums and synths are straight out of the Purple Rain era, but two things signify this is a modern era song: one is Prince's light use of Auto-Tune for robotic vocal effects, and the other is the rapper Q-Tip, who makes a too-brief appearance on the track. Also among MPLSound's best songs are the funky "No More Candy 4 U," and "Better With Time," a tender, romantic ballad on which Prince, in his patented falsetto, gets all sentimental on us: "Anyone who's met you agrees that no one forgets you, most of all not me," he sings. This one's destined to be played at weddings for years to come.


Prince has been in the music game for almost 30 years now, but not only does he show no sign of slowing down, his music somehow manages to still sound as fresh as it did back in the early 1980s. On his latest work, a three-disc set that became available exclusively at Target stores on March 29, 2009, Prince proves that although he's in his 50s now, he still can be just as cutting edge and vibrant as he was 25 years ago. The three discs, Lotusflow3r (Lotus Flower), MPLSound, (Minneapolis Sound) and Elixer (Elixir), prove that he's still far more creative than maybe 95 percent of the artists making music today.
'MPLSound'
Of the three discs, it's the second one, the nine-song MPLSound, that should appeal most to fans of Prince's classic material and/or traditional R&B, so that's the disc that'll be reviewed here first. Much of the music is similar to that of Prince's late 1980s output, particularly the drum machine programming, synthesizers and chorus arrangements. But although Prince has been in the music game almost three decades now, he still manages to instill a youthful outlook and zest for life in his verses, such as the opening track on MPLSound, the up tempo "(There'll Never B) Another Like Me," when he sings "Walked in my closet, tryin' to find somethin' to wear/Then I check my email, see where the party be, change the names to protect the guilty, and get ready to creep." Now how many other 50-year-old men can you think of who could convincingly sing such lyrics? Probably not many, if any.
The next song, a funky track called "Chocolate Box," is sort of a bridge between old school and new. The drums and synths are straight out of the Purple Rain era, but two things signify this is a modern era song: one is Prince's light use of Auto-Tune for robotic vocal effects, and the other is the rapper Q-Tip, who makes a too-brief appearance on the track. Also among MPLSound's best songs are the funky "No More Candy 4 U," and "Better With Time," a tender, romantic ballad on which Prince, in his patented falsetto, gets all sentimental on us: "Anyone who's met you agrees that no one forgets you, most of all not me," he sings. This one's destined to be played at weddings for years to come.

'Lotusflow3r' and 'Elixer'
The album's first disc, Lotusflow3r, consists of 12 songs that experiment with pop, jazz, blues, funk and rock, many on the same track. Prince's guitar wizardry is on full display on the disc's second song, "Boom," which starts out as the sonic equivalent of a relaxing shoulder massage before metamorphasizing into a sort of musical thundershower. The following track, "The Morning After" is a Beatles-influenced pop ditty reminiscent of his 1985 album, Around the World In a Day; and another song, "Colonized Mind," is a melancholy, bluesy song that offers social commentary while acknowledging Prince's spirituality: "If you look, then surely you will find throughout mankind's history a colonized mind/The one in power makes law under which the colonized fall; without God, it's just the blind leadin' the blind." More commentary can also be heard on the Jimi Hendrix-ish "Dreamer," a funk-rock civil rights ode.
The third disc, Elixer, is technically the debut album by Prince protege Bria Valente, but the album's produced by Prince and he's also a featured performer. Much like some of Prince's other young female proteges - most famously Vanity and Appolonia - Bria looks great but isn't a great singer. Her paper-thin vocals on the 10 songs are disappointing, but the sultry, jazz-influenced production is indeed tight. The few standout tracks are the title song (which features Prince), the erotic "Something U Already Know," or the dance track "2Nite." Overall, this is by far the weakest of the three discs, but still worth hearing thanks to the Purple One's creative touch.

Glad to see a nice, positive review!

thanks for sharing this...it's good to read reviews where you don't feel from the first line that the writer has some personal score to settle with Prince.

a big fish in a small pond again.

about.com? can we get a real review somewhere?

cutting edge?

please

"more creative than maybe 95 percent of the artists making music today"

Ain't that the truth!!!

japanrocks said:

hater... Maddona board is recruiting memebers.... Sh'orty!

Alexandernvrmind said:

[Edited 3/30/09 6:59am]

Lotusflwr 5/10

MPLSOUND 3/10

Elixr 1/10 (and that is being nice)

Finally, a reviewer that gets it. The best and most accurate review, so far.

Already posted here: http://prince.org/msg/7/301816?&pg=5.

japanrocks said:

You are the same **** that did that post about the midget and then said this is prince in a few years, Your so negative and pathetic. Don't you know everyone here hates you? What on earth are you doing on this FAN-site when you have nothing positive to think about the man anymore. Go away
[Edited 3/30/09 22:51pm]

candy2277 said:

thanks....appreciate it

Lovesymbol2 said:

who are you? i don't even know you
it is called a sense of humor buddy....look into it
and as far as something positive goes - i love the guy - so there
perhaps you should go away since you and others like you that worship his every move make the rest of us normal prince fans look like dorks

japanrocks said:

Ok...japanrocks name a album released this year that get 6 out of 10 ....from any artist....

take your time...

japanrocks said:

I'm sure you spend more time here, i have a life. I go to school, study and work generally hard, so unlike you who makes ridiculous posts i have a life, you don't seem to have one as you have enough time on your hands to post ridiculous topics (midget post & co) So much to your following every step.

WetDream said:

Finally the influential about.com weighs in on Prince's latest opus. Clear some Grammy room and ready the Pazz and Jop 2009, about.com hath spoken.

Wall said:

Finally, the influential Wall weighs in on about.com weighing in on Prince's latest opus.

You know, I would take your persistent negativity toward Prince as more than just attention seeking if you hadn't behaved the exact way during the presidential election last year in P&R.

Your M.O. is clear. Find forums where most people agree on an issue or subject matter, and become the outspoken rebel, criticizing what they take pleasure in only to satisfy your callow need for attention.

You did this with Obama in P&R, calling out every misstep, and predicting how the latest mistake would cost him the election.

Guess what? Obama won.

Accujack said:

Accujack said:

You've got me figured out.

I was obviously wrong about the outcome of the election. However, I'm not a US citizen nor am I master of divination so it was all a guess, which was, far off.

Wall said:

I'm not a US citizen and unless you lived under a large rock no one expected McCain to win the election unless they never saw Obama...
Only stupid US citizens would vote for palin & mc cain....and the world was praying for Obama to win...so really you suck big time...

LondonStyle said:

I'm glad I was wrong.

Wall said:

Mate I'm glad your wrong.....keep up the good run....

Wall said:

Sure, you are.

Attention seeking trolls on messageboards are sad individuals.

Accujack said:

Nearly as sad as the quality of writing in that about.com review.

Wall said:

The review is an opinion.
No more or less valid than your own.

Although, I doubt the author of the of the piece is trolling messageboards trying to convince members of the album's greatness.
[Edited 3/31/09 8:46am]

Accujack said:

You sound like you've got some experience with the internet.

Wall said:

No Fury like a woman scorned... you behave and post like a scorned lover. Just my opinion

Now this is a very cool review.